Daniel: Thriving in a Modern-Day Babylon: Part 1 How Did We Get Here?

How Did We Get Here?
Daniel 1:1-21

 

Daniel 1:1-2 “During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and
permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took
them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.”

 

Daniel 1:4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well
versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to
serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.”


Daniel 1:8-10 “But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them
by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Now God had
given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord
the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the
other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”


Daniel 1:11-14 “Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look
after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and
water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who
are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to
Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.”

 

1. Live according to the Bible not Babylon.
Proverbs 27:23-24 “Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for
riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.”

 

2. Refuse to compromise your convictions.
Daniel 1:15-16 “At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better
nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the
attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.”


Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

 

Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you
everything you need.”

 

3. Know who you are.
Daniel 1:20 “Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment,
he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.”

 

Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your
slavery.”


- Stewart Briscoe “The more you tell someone who they are the less you have to tell them what to do.”

 

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation,
God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out
of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

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